1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intumescing, multi-component epoxide resin coating composition for fire protection with a component which contains at least one epoxide resin, a curing agent component which contains at least one curing agent for the epoxide resin, and an intumesing component which contains at least one acid constituent, at least one source of carbon, and at least one gas-forming agent, with the epoxide resin-containing component and the curing agent component being kept separate from one another to prevent reaction therebetween and reacting with one another with polymerization only while being mixed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Intumescing coating compositions are used to protect steel construction elements against fire. They are applied on the steel construction elements. In the case of a fire, they expand because they contain intumescing components, which provides improved fire protection because of the resulting longer burn-up behavior. On the one hand, it must be possible to apply such fire protection coatings easily, quickly and with the fewest possible steps on the steel construction, which is to be protected. Moreover, these coatings must have short drying times. At the same time, they must develop the fire protection effect aimed for and, moreover, be weather resistant. They must therefore comply with stringent requirements, especially in the case of steel constructions on oil platforms.
Conventional, commercial, intumescing fire-protection coatings for protecting steel constructions in the visible region against fire are either water-based or solvent-based and are applied with the help of spraying equipment. This makes it necessary to apply the coating in several steps in order to achieve a coating of the required thickness and leads to a comparatively long drying process for these conventional coating compositions and to a lengthy process for producing the coating. In addition, the water-based coating compositions in every case require an additional covering coating, which prevents the water-soluble additives, which produce the intumescence, being leached out of the coating. For steel constructions on oil platforms, such an additional covering coating represents an appreciable expense.
It is furthermore known that systems based on epoxide resins may be used to fulfill the weathering stability conditions for such fire protection coatings on steel construction of oil platforms. However, a consequence of such use is that the intumescing properties of such coatings are adversely affected, since, after it has cured, the epoxide resins in the coating has a very high thermal stability, so that, in the event of a fire, the coating does not soften and, consequently, the aimed-four intumescing behavior does not take place to the extent required. Furthermore, very large thicknesses of the fire protection coatings in the centimeter range are required.
An object of the present invention is a coating composition for producing intumescing coatings for protecting steel against fire.
Another object of the invention is an intumescing coating composition that can be applied easily and quickly and that has a high weathering resistance and, finally, possesses a comparatively low thermal stability, so that the intumescing properties, required for fire protection, can be attained readily even with layers having a small thickness.